An Early Spring for Alberta’s Wildrose?

The surprise resignation of Alberta Premier Alison Redford late Wednesday left the ruling Progressive Conservatives in disarray and presented an opening for the main opposition party to call for new leadership in the oil-rich province.

Less than an hour after Ms. Redford announced her intention to resign, the head of the province’s right-of-center Wildrose Party, Danielle Smith, called a press conference to praise the premier’s decision after weeks of sharp attacks.

“Premier Alison Redford gave everything she had to the job she was elected to do, and for that she should be very proud,” Ms. Smith said.

But the opposition leader minced no words painting the ruling party as broken and out-of-touch with the concerns of average Albertans. She cited public unease over the province’s growing debt load and the level of transparency in government decision-making.

“The PC party simply can’t be fixed,” she said. “[Its] problems will not change if you just change the people at the helm.”

Wildrose leader Danielle Smith campaigning in April 2012.

Reuters

The fortunes of Wildrose, which lost out to the PC party in a 2012 election, have improved according to recent polls. A public opinion survey published on March 16 by The Edmonton Journal showed its approval rating at 46%, double the level of support for the governing party. But elections are not mandatory until 2016 and there’s little incentive for Ms. Redford’s PC successor to call them early.

Who that will be remains unknown, but political observers speculate an interim premier may step in when Ms. Redford leaves office on Sunday in order to give the PC party more time to choose a permanent replacement. A succession of PC governments have ruled Alberta since 1971.

Ms. Smith said she believes more Albertans are looking to Wildrose as “a government-in-waiting” and that it will be ready with a slate of candidates whenever the next election is held. Last fall, her party eliminated some socially conservative policies from its platform in an attempt to move closer toward the political center and woo more voters who have voted PC in the past.

For now, the Wildrose leader plans to focus on the more immediate task of re-writing remarks prepared for her party’s annual gala dinner in Calgary scheduled for Thursday. “For the next 24 hours, I’m going to be working on revising my speech,” she said.

About Canada Real Time

Canada Real Time provides insight and analysis into what’s making news in Canada, a country punching above its weight on the world stage thanks to its vast resources and strong banking sector. Drawing on the expertise of The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires, we take a look at developments in fields ranging from business to politics to culture. You can contact the editors at canadaeditors@dowjones.com